


Star Crossed

by Whilhelmina_Prince



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: 4+1, Fate, M/M, Multiverse, Tropetastic Tuesday, True Love, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 05:42:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10713381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whilhelmina_Prince/pseuds/Whilhelmina_Prince
Summary: Rhett and Link find true love in four different incarnations in the multiverse. In one, they don't.





	1. Soul Mates

Neither Rhett nor Link could say exactly when they knew they were in love. 

From the first time they met in first grade, they were inseparable. In middle school, they swore a blood oath to each other. But love wasn’t the kind of word boys used for each other. They were just best friends.

All through high school, they dated girls, but more often than not, they drifted back toward each other, spending long afternoons stretched out by the Cape Fear River or perched on the rocks where they planned their futures.

Never once did they consider a future where they weren’t together.

Two or three times in college, or perhaps more, with the helpful nudge of one too many drinks, they uttered those words to each other. But the more sober of the two would always add, “as a brother,” because men didn’t say those things to each other.

By the time they had seen enough of the world to understand what they really were to each other, it was too late. They had built their lives and careers together, but they were husbands and fathers now. 

It was a slow slide to what they became. Little touches and side glances turned to lingering caresses and long looks. Blatant denial of their affection disappeared, and in its absence came flagrant displays of flirtation. For the first time, they said “I love you” without sullying the words with a justification.

When they finally fell into each other's arms, it wasn’t the crashing lust of two people who had long yearned for one another. Instead, it was the tender, passionate, and Holy lovemaking that could only be achieved by two people who knew each other’s souls. They came together as one flesh slowly, deliberately, knowing exactly who they were betraying. But they also knew that it was inevitable.

Soul mates couldn’t survive apart. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Rhett promised as he kissed Link’s forehead. “I don’t know how, but we will.”

Link nodded and closed his eyes. He was too tired to think more about it. He’d given everything to Rhett -- his body, heart, and soul -- and he had nothing left to give. All he could do was fall asleep in his lover’s arms. There would be time for planning later.

Rhett, however, went to sleep with the full knowledge that the universe wouldn’t betray them. He fully believed that in every dimension, in every version of the multiverse, there was a Rhett and Link who were together. There had to be. And that meant that in their reality, fate would keep them together.


	2. The Prince and the Minstrel

The day the minstrel with the blue eyes walked into the throne room was the day the prince lost everything and gained the world.

James, the son of the king, married the Princess Amalia in the morning. They had met just once the previous evening. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Prince James allowed only the briefest kiss, for he did not love her.

They were immediately whisked away to a banquet in their honor. Course after course was set before them. James ate greedily and drank heavily, laughing with the noblemen of the court and ignoring his young bride.

James knew little of Amalia, but he had learned enough when he heard her berating her handmaiden for spilling wine. A single drop had landed on the table and had ruined nothing, but the handmaiden left the banquet hall in tears while Amalia smiled smugly. 

He could not spend his life with this woman. Yet, there seemed no way around it. Someday, possibly soon, his father would die, James would be crowned king, and Amalia would sit beside his as queen.

As the banquet drove on into the evening, minstrels arrived to sing tales of dragons and princesses. James sat upon his throne, his bride at his side, while song after song played. They were all the same. Every knight slew the dragon and rescued the princess, rising to become the greatest king in the land. 

James’ mind wandered. He pictured himself as a lowly farmer, toiling away at the earth. He wandered as a hired mercenary. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. But in every rendition of his dream, one thing remained the same: he could marry someone he loved.

And in none of those dreams did the person he loved resemble in any way the woman at his side.

His reverie was broken as the last minstrel came forward and strummed a sad chord on his lute. James looked up and saw a pair of shining blue eyes looking out from under feathered cap. The minstrel met his eyes, something no commoner was permitted to do.

It would have angered his father. But James was intrigued. The minstrel sang, telling a sad tale of a young couple, deeply in love and forbidden to marry. They ran away to start a new life together, but alas, they became lost and starved in the winter forest. They withered away and died in each other’s arms.

The minstrel bowed and walked away, joining the others. 

Prince James excused himself and moved toward the door, as if he had to relieve himself. But when he was certain no one was looking, he snuck towards the minstrels and sought out the man with the blue eyes. He found him alone, tucked in a corner and sipping a mug of ale. 

The prince ducked into the dark corner and hid his face. Only the minstrel could see him. “Tell me more,” he whispered.

“More of what?” the minstrel asked. 

“Were they happy?”

The minstrel turned to the prince. He had to look up, as the prince was the tallest man in the kingdom. “Happy? They died, your Highness.”

“Yes, but …” the Prince stammered. He took another step toward the minstrel.“Was it worth it?”

“Love is always worth it.”

The prince took the minstrel’s hand and led him away, down dark corridors and secret passages, to a room no one knew he used. It was his secret place, where he escaped when the court and prince lessons and his father’s narcissism grew to be too much. There was little there but a straw mattress and some parchment where he scrawled poetry, but it was his and his alone.

Now he brought the minstrel there. “Tell me your name.”

“I am Charles, the wandering minstrel.”

“Would you play another?”

“Would you hear of dragons and princesses?” Charles asked, his eyes bright with mischief.

“Never,” James retorted. “Tell me of love. True love.”

“What do you know of love?” Charles asked. “You do not love your bride.”

“I cannot love her.”

Charles took the prince’s hand. “But could you love a lowly minstrel?” 

James tipped up the minstrel’s chin with his finger and pressed a soft lingering kiss into his lips. Amalia’s lips had been cold and hard. Charles was warm and pliant. “I could love any man who makes such beautiful music.”

“And I could love any man who believes in true love.”

And so, on his wedding night, the prince lay with a minstrel instead of his bride. They awoke at dawn, light streaming through a tiny window. 

“Take me with you,” James begged. “I have nothing here.”

“It is a hard life,” Charles reminded him. “I have no home, no comfortable bed, no steady income.”

“I do not care. I love you.”

“You would give up your gilded cage?”

“I would give it all up for you.”

“They will hunt you down.”

“We will run far and fast. We will never return.”

And so, Prince James and Charles the wandering minstrel stole away on two of the king’s horses, never to be heard from again.


	3. Packmates

It would never have mattered if Link wasn’t the son of the alpha. 

It was Link’s destiny to take over the pack one day. It was therefore expected that he would marry and have pups. The alpha had a duty to the pack to provide an heir.

His family waited for years for Link to report that he had met his mate. But the day never came. Link would only shrug when questioned. 

When he was 21, Link’s father told him that he had made a deal with a neighboring pack. Their alpha had a daughter who had also not met her mate. And while it was ideal for the alpha to marry his true mate, to marry the child of another alpha was the second best option. 

Rhett found Link in the woods later that day, his eyes red. 

“I have to marry her,” Link said. “I have no choice.”

Link knew his status as alpha was already a matter of question for the pack. He had not inherited his father’s brute strength, and there were some who wondered if the alpha was, in fact, Link’s father. If his mother had survived the birth, she would have to answer for Link’s paternity.

If he also refused to marry, he would be challenged, and he was certain he would lose.

But Rhett, Link’s best friend, and the beta who would serve as his second, knew better. Link was not the muscled brute his father was, but he had the strength of mind to best any wolf. 

Link could walk away and decline his position. But times were changing and all of the packs were more and more at risk. Physical strength was no longer enough to protect a pack from the world. Rhett knew that Link was the only wolf with the wisdom and vision to safeguard the pack’s way of life while shepherding them into the modern world.

Link loved his people too much to abandon them.

“What are you going to do?” Rhett asked, kneeling at Link’s feet.

Link leaned down and kissed Rhett’s lips. The surge that was always there between true mates filled them both, as it had over and over since they ran together as pups.

“I have an idea,” he told his lover. “If you’ll go along with it.”

Little did Link know, the stars had aligned in his favor.

When the neighboring pack visited, Christy, the daughter of the alpha, arrived with her beta, Jessie, at her side. Tears filled both of their eyes. 

Link immediately asked for a private meeting with Christy. Their fathers took this to mean that Link wanted to mount her immediately and make her his mate. They smiled as Link whisked her away. 

Christy wept as she told Link her story. Unlike in Link’s pack, it was forbidden for her. Jessie was her true mate, but she could not speak of it. That’s why her father had promised her to Link.

Link hugged her and told her not to worry. His pack would allow it; the only reason he couldn’t be with Rhett was because he had to provide an heir. But this solved everything. It was fate, interceding for all of them.

Link summoned Rhett and asked him to bring Jessie with him. Link unfolded his plan, and they all knew immediately it was the only solution.

When the four finally emerged, Link held Rhett’s hand, as he had never before dared in front of his father. 

“I will not marry Christy,” he announced. The pack was aghast, but Link held a hand up to silence them. 

Link’s father demanded an explanation, his face red with anger. 

“I have already met my true mate,” Link explained. “Rhett and I will marry.”

Christy’s father shouted from the crowd. “What of my daughter? You are to marry her!”

“Christy will become one of our pack, along with Jessie, her true mate.” 

Christy slid her hand into Jessie’s. Jessie squeezed it.

“You cannot do this,” Link’s father growled. He grabbed Link’s arm, pulling him away from Rhett.

“I can,” Link said. He pushed his father away and took Rhett’s hand again. “Christy and Jessie have agreed to an arrangement.”

“No,” insisted Christy’s father. “It is forbidden in our pack. I will not allow it.”

Link again raised a hand to silence the rumblings of the visiting pack. “We have already made Christy and Jessie part of our pack.”

Christy blushed. She had never imagined things this way. Consummating with your true mate was supposed to be long and drawn out, a mix of deep passion and hot pleasure. Out of necessity, for the four of them, it was rushed, but powerful, nonetheless. After, she and Jessie had held hands and kissed as the men took them into their pack, mating with them to seal their agreement.

Christy’s father left angry, but could do nothing. Christy had become a part of Link’s pack, and nothing could change that. Link’s father, a traditional wolf, was displeased, but in time, would come to appreciate his son’s clever scheme.

Christy and Jessie moved into Link’s home, along with Rhett, where the four of them would raise their pups together. For the first time, the women slept next to each other without fear of discovery. 

For the first time, Rhett and Link slept in each other’s arms knowing it wouldn’t be the last.


	4. The Sun and the Moon

The sun rose every morning and went down every night. The sun was rhythmic, unchanging, reliable. But he was taken for granted. Though he brought light and warmth to a world that needed him to survive, no one paid him much attention. He was always there, always content with the knowledge that he served a greater purpose, and never minded.

The moon was much more mysterious and unpredictable. He seemed to rise at will, sometimes after the sun had disappeared, and sometimes appearing in the background while the sun still held court. Sometimes huge and round, taking over the sky, other times a mere sliver, shining and grinning at a dark world.

It bothered the sun at first. Day was his time. He resented having to share the sky with the lesser moon.

The moon loved the quiet and calm of his night, yet all the while, he longed for the something exciting and new. He refused to be shackled.

Each time the moon showed up unexpectedly during the day, he would tell the sun stories of the night. He told the sun how the stars twinkled like diamonds in the black sky and how silent it could be in the winter when snow covered the earth.

The sun tried not to listen, but he soon became captivated by the moon’s tales. He especially loved hearing of the secrets that passed in the night when the world thought no one was listening. But the moon was always listening, and he knew far more than the sun ever could.

It was not long before the sun began to look forward to the moon’s visits, though their erratic nature always left him wondering if the moon had grown bored of him. Once, during a lengthy absence, the sun wondered if the moon would ever come back.

But of course, he did.

The sun asked him that day why he bothered. The night sounded so lovely; what made him come to the day?

The moon answered, “Don’t you know?”

For the moon knew the truth. He shone only because of the sun. He had no light of his own. It was when he realized this that he first visited the day, for he had to know the source of his light, the granter of his beauty.

He had fallen in love at once, for the sun was brighter and more beautiful than he ever could be, but was generous enough to share his light with the world. 

When the sun heard this, his heart swelled with love for the moon. He, too, had fallen in love, but he had kept his heart closed for fear the moon would not love him in return. 

Though they could not be together always as they wished to be, the moon promised he would always come back. 

When the sun set that evening, the sun’s joyous heart turned the sky orange, then pink, and at last purple, before he disappeared. The moon shone even brighter, for he knew those colors were for him.

The moon kept his promise, returning to the day as often as he could, to share stories with the sun and to declare his love again and again. And every so often, when the sky aligned just right, the moon was able to come close enough to kiss the sun, blocking out his light and leaving the world dark for just a few moments. And in those moments, the sun could finally see the beauty of the night.


	5. On Opposite Coasts

In a bland office in California, an engineer sat at a desk daydreaming. Before him lay plans for water pipes he was supposed to be improving. But he had long grown tired of pipes. 

Rhett wondered sometimes how his life could have been different. His father had been offered a job in North Carolina when Rhett was just six years old, but he had turned it down. Maybe, he thought, if they have moved all those years ago, things would be different. 

Rhett’s father had pushed him toward basketball, and he attended college on a hefty sports scholarship. He wanted to pursue a degree in philosophy, or perhaps film or creative writing, but his father wouldn’t allow it. A man had to have something to fall back on.

So when a back injury ended his basketball career, Rhett’s backup plan became his career. His only reprieve was his weekend adventures, when he would do everything from rock climbing to skydiving or trying exciting new foods. 

But even this brought him little joy, for he had no one to share it with. Dating had gotten him nowhere. He needed someone who could challenge him, someone who could make him better. 

He had given up.

On the opposite coast, in North Carolina, a local weatherman put on his jacket for another broadcast. He’d became well-known for his antics, his absurd humor, and his gregarious personality. 

All through school, Link had been the class clown. Everyone knew him and everyone liked him, but he never had anyone he could truly call a friend. 

He’d studied mass communications in college and became an on-camera weatherman as an outlet for his creativity. But it soon became a grind. He longed for more. He wanted to write music or make movies. But his ideas always seemed half-formed. There was something missing. 

So he remained a weatherman. 

Early in his career, he’d given up on dating. Anyone who wanted to be with him was in love with his onscreen personality. When they got to know the real Link, who could be dark and brooding at times, they ran. But no one could be hilarious all the time. 

In mid 2017, their worlds came together for a brief moment. Rhett found Link on a dating app, and though he was on the other side of the country, he was intrigued by the weatherman’s profile. They chatted on and off by text, and eventually Rhett and Link had one phone call that left them both certain they were in love.

But the next day, the world fell apart. Civil war broke out and civilians rose up against the government. California seceded from the nation. Bombs destroyed the mid-west. Cell networks and the internet failed. The east coast was ruled by a dictatorship, while the west coast struggled to form a new government. 

What might have been was lost forever. Fate had lost the battle against the world.


End file.
